Highest-Ridership Commuter Rail Systems
US commuter rail operators ranked by annual unlinked passenger trips. · 2024 report year
This table ranks 27 US commuter rail operators by annual ridership for 2024. 27 agencies reported commuter rail service in total, carrying 364 million trips between them.
MTA Long Island Rail Road leads at 97.2 million trips.
| # | Agency | Location | Annual trips | Annual trips | Operating expense | Farebox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MTA Long Island Rail Road | New York, NY | 97,220,517 | 97,220,517 | $2.21 billion | 29% |
| 2 | Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, dba: MTA Metro-North Railroad | New York, NY | 74,064,075 | 74,064,075 | $1.71 billion | 37% |
| 3 | New Jersey Transit Corporation | Newark, NJ | 60,447,079 | 60,447,079 | $1.38 billion | 30% |
| 4 | Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation | Chicago, IL | 35,051,943 | 35,051,943 | $989 million | 17% |
| 5 | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | Boston, MA | 29,186,010 | 29,186,010 | $570 million | 23% |
| 6 | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority | Philadelphia, PA | 22,480,414 | 22,480,414 | $331 million | 26% |
| 7 | Denver Regional Transportation District | Denver, CO | 8,331,378 | 8,331,378 | $137 million | 13% |
| 8 | Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board | San Carlos, CA | 7,405,005 | 7,405,005 | $193 million | 24% |
| 9 | Southern California Regional Rail Authority | Los Angeles, CA | 4,321,271 | 4,321,271 | $309 million | 12% |
| 10 | South Florida Regional Transportation Authority | Pompano Beach, FL | 4,299,794 | 4,299,794 | $126 million | 12% |
| 11 | Utah Transit Authority | Salt Lake City, UT | 4,128,460 | 4,128,460 | $53.6 million | 9% |
| 12 | Maryland Transit Administration | Baltimore, MD | 3,836,552 | 3,836,552 | $189 million | 12% |
| 13 | Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority | Seattle, WA | 1,916,429 | 1,916,429 | $91.6 million | 7% |
| 14 | Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District | Chesterton, IN | 1,771,513 | 1,771,513 | $65.0 million | 18% |
| 15 | Virginia Railway Express | Woodbridge, VA | 1,589,693 | 1,589,693 | $106 million | 15% |
| 16 | Dallas Area Rapid Transit | Dallas, TX | 1,270,112 | 1,270,112 | $47.5 million | 8% |
| 17 | Central Florida Commuter Rail | Tallahassee, FL | 1,136,319 | 1,136,319 | $76.7 million | 3% |
| 18 | North County Transit District | Oceanside, CA | 852,993 | 852,993 | $37.9 million | 9% |
| 19 | Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District | Petaluma, CA | 850,270 | 850,270 | $35.6 million | 6% |
| 20 | Fort Worth Transportation Authority | Fort Worth, TX | 779,769 | 779,769 | $38.3 million | 4% |
| 21 | Altamont Corridor Express | Stockton, CA | 681,351 | 681,351 | $38.7 million | 14% |
| 22 | Pennsylvania Department of Transportation | Harrisburg, PA | 634,804 | 634,804 | $29.2 million | 88% |
| 23 | Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority | Portland, ME | 598,426 | 598,426 | $26.8 million | 49% |
| 24 | Rio Metro Regional Transit District | Albuquerque, NM | 593,723 | 593,723 | $48.9 million | 2% |
| 25 | Connecticut Department of Transportation | Newington, CT | 151,618 | 151,618 | $26.6 million | 5% |
| 26 | Metro Transit | Minneapolis, MN | 127,368 | 127,368 | $15.5 million | 3% |
| 27 | Regional Transportation Authority | Madison, TN | 108,249 | 108,249 | $5.1 million | 9% |
Other rankings
- Cheapest Heavy Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 16 systems
- Most Expensive Heavy Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 16 systems
- Highest-Ridership Heavy Rail Systems 16 systems
- Best Farebox Recovery Among Heavy Rail Systems 16 systems
- Cheapest Light Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 22 systems
- Most Expensive Light Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 22 systems
- Highest-Ridership Light Rail Systems 22 systems
- Cheapest Commuter Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 24 systems
- Most Expensive Commuter Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 24 systems
- Best Farebox Recovery Among Commuter Rail Systems 24 systems
- Cheapest Bus Systems by Cost per Rider 40 systems
- Most Expensive Bus Systems by Cost per Rider 40 systems
- Highest-Ridership Bus Agencies 40 systems
- Best Farebox Recovery Among Large Bus Systems 40 systems
- Highest-Ridership Bus Rapid Transit Systems 20 systems
- Highest-Ridership Streetcar Systems 25 systems
- Highest-Ridership Ferry Systems 39 systems
- Most Expensive Demand-Response (Paratransit) Services by Cost per Rider 40 systems
- Highest-Ridership Demand-Response (Paratransit) Services 40 systems
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Open this in Ask NTD →Source & method. Figures are from the Federal Transit Administration's National Transit Database (NTD) annual reporting for 2024, the most recent published report year. Cost per rider is operating expense divided by unlinked passenger trips. Farebox recovery is fare revenue divided by operating expense. Ten-year trends are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; single-year figures are as reported. Agencies self-report to the NTD, and reporting practice varies, so figures are best read as comparable in magnitude rather than to the cent.